αἰτία, (ας, ἡ; 1. cause, reason: Act_10:21; Act_22:24; Act_28:20; κατά πᾶσαν αἰτίαν for every cause, Mat_19:3; δἰ ἥν αἰτίαν for which cause, wherefore, Luk_8:47; 2Ti_1:6; 2Ti_1:12; Tit_1:13; Heb_2:11; cf. Grimm on 2Ma_4:28. 2. cause for which one is worthy of punishment; crime of which one is accused: Mat_27:37; Mar_15:26; Joh_18:38; Joh_19:4 (6; Act_23:28); αἰτία θανάτου (A. V. cause of death) crime deserving the punishment of death, Act_13:28; Act_28:18. 3. charge of crime, accusation: Act_25:18; Act_25:27. (All these meanings are in secular writings also; (but Liddell and Scott now make meaning 3 the primary one).) In Mat_19:10 the words εἰ οὕτως ἐστιν ἡ αἰτία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μετά τήν γυναικός find a simple explanation in a Latinism (causa equivalent tores:si ita res se habet, etc.) if the case of the man with his wife is so.

αἰτία aitia 20x cause, motive, incitement; accusation, crime, case basis; cause; charge; reason.

αἰτία , -ας , ἡ , [in LXX : Gen_4:13 ( H5771 ), Pro_28:17 ( H6231 ), and freq . in Wis, 2,3Mac ;] 1. cause, reason, occasion, case: Mat_19:3 , Luk_8:47 , Act_10:21 ; Act_22:24 ; Act_28:20 , 2Ti_1:6 ; 2Ti_1:12 , Tit_1:13 , Heb_2:11 ; εἰ οὕτως ἐστὶν ἡ αἰ . al. ( cf. Lat. Sir ita res se habet, and v. MM . VGT , s.v. ), Mat_19:10 . 2. In forensic sense, (a) accusation : Act_25:18 ; Act_25:27 ; (b) cause for punishment, crime: Mat_27:37 Mar_15:26 , Joh_18:38 ; Joh_19:4 ; Joh_19:6 , Act_13:28 ; Act_23:28 ; Act_8:18 .† SYN.: ἔλεγχος G1650 , a charge, whether moral or judicial, which has been proven. αἰ . is an accusation simply, false or true.

αἰτία [page 15] P Petr III. 53 ( n ) (iii/B.C.) ἀπέσταλται εἰς Ἀλεξανδρείαν πρὸς αἰτίαν ὑπὲρ ἧς [ἀπ ]ολογίζεται ἀ̣ [λ ]λ᾽ οὐ τυχὼν ἐπιδείξειν (? for -δεῖξαι ) [π ]ρὸς βίαν ἔχετ̣α̣ι̣, he was sent to Alexandria to meet a charge against him and make his defence; but since he did not succeed in clearing himself he is forcibly detained (Edd.). So BGU I. 267 .8 (A.D. 199) τοῖς δικαία̣[ν ] αἰ̣τ̣[ί ]αν ἐσχηκόσι , and so identically P Strass I. 22 .3 f. (iii/AD.) it was a legal formula. Note P Ryl II. 144 .22 (A.D. 38) ἐτόλμησεν πθόνους ( = φθόνου ) μοι ἐπαγαγεῖν αἰτίας τοῦ μὴ ὄντος to bring baseless accusations of malice (Edd.). In ib. 63 .2 (iii/AD. an astronomical dialogue) τίς δὲ ἡ αἰτία τούτων [τ ]ῶ [ν ] [εἰ ]δώλων ( What is the cause of these images? Edd.) we might possibly render case : Prof. Hunt paraphrases What is the meaning? If so, it comes fairly near Mat_19:10 εἰ οὕτως ἐστὶν ἡ αἰτία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μετὰ τῆς γυναικός . Cf. P Par 49 .27 (B.C. 164 58) εἴπερ οὖν ἐστὶν αὕτη ἡ αἰτία . A more general use in P Hib I. 43 .7 (B.C. 261 (260)) ἵνα μὴ αἰτίας ἔχῃς , lest you be blamed. P Giss I. 40 i. 2 (A.D. 212) joined with λ̣[ιβ ]έλλου [ς ] in the sense of querellae (Ed.). The more ordinary meaning reason, excuse, like Mat_19:3 , etc., hardly needs illustration, but cf. BGU I. 136 .25 f. (A.D. 135) κατὰ ταύτην [τὴν αἰ ]τίαν , P Oxy III. 472 .5 ( c. A.D. 130) εἶχεν μὲν οὖν αἰτίας , and frequently in the inscriptions, e.g. Michel 456 .14 (ii/B.C.) διὰ ταύτας τὰς αἰτίας . BGU IV. 1205 .7 (B.C. 28) τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ φακοῦ has an insufficiently clear context. Ἄνευ αἰτίας , sine caussa , appears in PSI 41 .16 (iv/A.D.).

αἰτία [Etym: αἰτέω] "a charge, accusation", Lat. crimen, and then "the guilt or fault implied in such accusation", Pind. , Hdt. :—Phrases: αἰτίαν ἔχειν "to be accused", τινός "of" a thing, id=Pind. , etc.;—reversely, αἰτία ἔχει με id=Pind. ; ἐν αἰτίαι εἶναι or γίγνεσθαι Xen. , etc.; αἰτίαν ὑπέχειν to lie under "a charge", Plat. ; αἰτίαν φέρεσθαι Thuc. ; αἰτίαις ἐνέχεσθαι Plat. :—opp. to these are ἐν αἰτίαι ἔχειν or δι᾽ αἰτίας to hold one guilty, accuse, Hdt. , Thuc. , etc.; ἐν αἰτίαι βάλλειν Soph. ; αἰτίαν νέμειν τινί id=Soph. , etc. in good sense, εἰ εὖ πράξαιμεν, αἰτία θεοῦ "the credit" is his, Aesch. ; οἳ ἔχουσι ταύτην τὴν αἰτίαν who have this "as their characteristic", Plat. "expostulation", μὴ ἐπ᾽ ἔχθραι τὸ πλέον ἢ αἰτίαι Thuc. "a cause", Lat. causa, Plat. , etc.; dat. αἰτίαι, like Lat. causa, for the sake of, κοινοῦ ἀγαθοῦ Thuc. "an occasion, opportunity", αἰτίαν παρέχειν Luc. "the head" under which a thing comes, Dem.

αἰτία, -ας, ἡ, [in LXX: Gen.4:13 (עָוֹן), Pro.28:17 (עָשַׁק), and frequently in Wi, II, III Mac ;] __1. cause, reason, occasion, case: Mat.19:3, Luk.8:47, Act.10:21 22:24 28:20, 2Ti.1:6,12, Tit.1:13, Heb.2:11 ; εἰ οὕτως ἐστιν ἡ αἰ. (cf. Lat. si ita res se habet, and see MM. VGT, see word), Mat.19:10. __2. In forensic sense, __(a) accusation: Act.25:18,27; __(b) cause for punishment, crime: Mat.27:37, Mrk.15:26, Jhn.18:38 19:4,6, Act.13:28 23:28 28:18. † SYN.: ἔλεγχος, a charge, whether moral or judicial, which has been proven, αἰ. is an accusation simply, false or true. (AS)